How to make THC tinctures the guest of honor at your next dinner party

I took a seat at my long, wooden dining table that had been plated for a party of six. Empty turquoise platters and deep wine glasses were placed at every chair. Earlier that day, I cut fresh sunflowers and put them in the center of the table. My backyard, with its lilac trees, hydrangeas and potted begonias, was in full bloom. I had invited five friends to my home for a plant-based dinner party, and the term didn't just apply to food.

In lieu of a traditional cocktail or heavy pour of wine, we would be served spirit-free drinks by our chef and hosts Dawn Drouillard and Patrick Duffy as part of their new endeavor, Marcy Greene, a line of edible finishing oils made with culinary-inspired ingredients and THC.

They brought out glasses of homemade hibiscus tea and a citrus iced tea rimmed with black sea salt and laced with a micro dose of THC. Drouillard, who ran Fabulous Catering for more than two decades, presented our group with the first dish of the evening: a vibrant summer succotash made of edamame, sweet corn, butter lettuce and nasturtium blossoms. She had dressed it with a Spanish smoked pepper vinaigrette infused with La Mano del Oro, a THC-infused oil she and Duffy made from smoked paprika, roasted garlic and oregano.

The dish that followed was a creamy cauliflower soup garnished with curried popcorn and an edible THC oil made with Samaan pepper and curry. After a few bites, one of the guests started giggling about nothing and her laughter spread like wildfire. "I think it's starting to work," she said.

"We're nondrinkers, and we still love to have fun," Duffy said. "Dawn is an incredible chef and I have a hospitality background. We love to gather people and we want to demystify cannabis usage. Marcy Greene is a really great way for us to offer an alternative to drinking."

The pair met through Michelle Courtright, who owned the now-shuttered plant-based restaurant Fig + Farro. Courtright recently launched a THC venture called Jane, offering tinctures for health needs such as pain, sleep, anxiety and menopause; Duffy and Drouillard used some of her tinctures that evening. (Read more about Courtright's venture at welovejane.co.)

A range of options

Marcy Greene provides small-scale dinner experiences using their THC oils, and sells their chef-crafted edible culinary finishing oils to those interested in finishing their food with a boost of THC.

The meals they curate can accommodate menus that aren't plant-based, with options for sustainably sourced chicken and fish. Participants can opt for as much or as little THC as they wish, or skip it entirely. During our dinner, a few guests expressed a desire to go slowly or taper off toward the end of the meal. Not because they felt out of control, but because they were new and cautious. In addition to predinner conversations about using THC, Duffy and Drouillard gave individual attention to each guest's dish and offered doses they were comfortable taking or backed off entirely if and when anyone wanted to opt out.

The launch of Marcy Greene (marcygreene.com) is timely as recreational marijuana usage became legal in Minnesota on Aug. 1, a year after the sale and consumption of edibles containing THC were legalized. Couple that with a nationwide decline in alcohol consumption — a 2021 Gallup poll showed the average number of weekly drinks reported is the lowest since 2001 — and it's a perfect storm of a new wave of ways to unwind and enjoy a meal with friends.

The main course was roasted fennel and wild mushrooms served over a roasted garlic and white bean purée and garnished with green olives, Marcona almonds, and Mistress of Gaia — an edible THC oil made from super greens, nettle, basil and chive. As we finished, the guests who were partaking in the THC addition were fully relaxed. A few slowed down to lengthen their experience.

We moved outside to the garden for dessert, a homemade vegan fudge brownie sundae dressed with a tincture from Courtright, flavored with coffee, cocoa and cayenne. Guests became chattier as the night progressed, some backed off the THC but the day after the dinner party shared that they could have had more.

And no one complained about a hangover.

There are many options for those who want to try THC, and it can be overwhelming. To get a little clarity, we talked to Lance Asher, director of business development and partnerships at the Dabbler Depot, which carries an extensive line of products at its three locations and helps guide customers through the THC maze.

"When it comes to THC, we don't want anyone to have a college tequila experience," Asher said. "I'm noticing a lot of folks my age — mid-40s — say their hangovers are getting worse. They're interested in cannabis because they don't want to experience that."

What is a tincture? Tinctures are concentrated cannabis infused in alcohol, glycerin or oil that can be consumed alone or incorporated in food or drink (they also can be flavored). The benefit of using tinctures is that you can try THC milligram by milligram. But remember, everyone is different. "You could have 3 milligrams and I could have 5 milligrams and our onset times could be different, even if our body composition is the same," he said.

A tincture can be taken under the tongue or, if it is water-soluble, mixed in liquid. Oils, which Marcy Greene uses, do not dissolve in water and are used as finishing oils. Be warned — cooking THC destroys the cannabinoids, making it ineffective.

Getting started: If you aren't used to using THC, Asher recommends starting with a small dose of a tincture, a quarter of a gummy, or part of a beverage, knowing the doses are different for each product. Read labels carefully before buying and using to know how many milligrams of THC are in the product.

Lasting effects: A tincture ingested directly under the tongue generally lasts about 45 minutes to an hour. It goes into the digestive system, so other things will come into play. Eating something with it, for example, might decrease your experience. "But the beautiful thing about a tincture is its quick onset," Asher said. "That helps it to be a safe sell to those who are new to cannabis."

Guide your usage based on what you are doing, Asher said. "Take 3 milligrams of a tincture or oil and mow the lawn, eat a gummy later, sip on a beverage to unwind. They'll all give you a one- to two-hour experience," he said. "The tincture will affect you in 5 to 10 minutes, the beverage in 10 to 15 minutes, and the gummy in 30 minutes to an hour. So you can create your own adventure."

Alyssa Shultis is a Twin Cities food writer and recipe developer.